0 a plant that is used in cooking to add flavour to food -- hierba
1 a plant used to flavor food -- condimento [ masculine ]
herbs and spices hierbas y especias
Herbs and spices have been used since time immemorial without known adverse effects.
In practical terms that means that an organic readymeal could contain minor ingredients like herbs and spices which are not readily available in organic form.
During the discussions, there were differences of view on the need to include spices and herbs in the scope of the regulation.
Due to the varying levels of active principles in herbs and spices, food manufacturers would have to vary their recipes on a batch-by-batch basis, and this would be very costly.
The unintended effect of this could be that the food industry would move away from herbs and spices because extracts and flavourings are much easier to standardise.
An exception is made for mixtures of spices or herbs constituting less than 2% of the finished product.
